Staff

Accession Number
2001/2.41

Title
Staff

Artist(s)
Yoruba

Artist Nationality
Yoruba (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
20th century

Medium & Support
wood with metal

Dimensions
50 in x 1 3/8 in x 1 3/8 in (127 cm x 3.5 cm x 3.5 cm);50 in x 1 3/8 in x 1 3/8 in (127 cm x 3.5 cm x 3.5 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Margaret H. and Albert J. Coudron

Subject matter
It is not known exactly how this staff was used or who it was made for; it is possibly a staff of office or a chief's staff, in which case it would have belonged to a prominent member of a Yoruba community. Staffs in general were common symbols of social status or authority, as diviners, herbalists, and obas (Yoruba monarchs), important community members with the power to make decisions, often carried them. 

References Cited: 
Drewal, Henry John, John Pemberton and Rowland O. Abiodun. 1989. Yoruba: Nine Centuries of African Art and Thought. New York: Center for African Art.

Physical Description
Carved wooden staff topped by a piece of metal with two standing human figures along the top third. The figures appear to be a woman and below her, a man. The bottom of the staff ends in a point. 

Primary Object Classification
Sculpture

Primary Object Type
staff

Collection Area
African

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form. Keywords
ceremonial objects
ceremonial staffs
social status
symbols of office or status

& Author Notes

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